Ustad Faiyaz Khan

Ustad Faiyaz Khan (alternative spelling Fiyaz Khan) (1934 – 12 November 2014) was a Tabla Maestro of international repute.

Faiyaz Khan was born in 1934 in Sikar, Rajasthan, into a family of musicians. Nazir Khan, his father, was a Sarangi and Tabla player at the court of the Maharaja of Karauli. His elder brother, Ustad Munir Khan, was a well-known Sarangi player. He was first taught Sarangi and Vocal Music. His initial Tabla training was under Ustad Hidayat Khan. He also learned from the late Ustad Inam Ali Khan of the Delhi gharana of Tabla. Ustad Faiyaz Khan also studied south indian rhythms from a master of the barrel drum mridangam, Pandit Ramnad Ishwaran.

He began his career as a staff artist of All India Radio, Jaipur in 1955. In 1958, he moved to Delhi to join All India Radio there. He retired from regular radio service in 1993.

Ustad Faiyaz Khan regularly accompanied many great stalwarts and frequently performed as a soloist as well. He also travelled the world extensively, from giving performances at the festival of Shiraz, Iran to a solo recital at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London in 1971, and numerous performances in Australia, the United States and Europe.

Faiyaz Khan had the rare opportunity of accompanying three generations of well-known musicians: from the great masters of yesteryear, such as Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Amir Khan, Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan, Begum Akhtar, Dr. Gangubai Hangal, Pandit Pannalal Ghosh, Vidushi Siddheshwari Devi, Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur, the generation of artists like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Vidushi Sharan Rani, Begum Parween Sultana, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Pandit Rajshekhar Mansur, Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty etc., to younger artists much his junior in age.

He taught for a year in 1985 at the Washington University and, since 1992, taught at the Rotterdam Conservatory regularly. Further regular teaching for a period of 20 years after his retirement took place at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Delhi, India.

He died on 12 November 2014 in New Delhi, at the age of 80.